Chapter 4
Clarke woke up the next morning on the couch with Carly staring up at her and reaching up for her hair. Torrey looked over at them from the recliner when she heard movements,”Good morning beautiful. How are you feeling today?”
In that moment, Clarke’s eyes widened as she realized what was about to happen. She threw her hand over her mouth and tried to move baby Carly out of the room as Torrey grabbed the waste basket. Torrey placed the waste basket in Clarke’s lap just as the vomiting started. She reaches behind Clarke to messily tie up her hair and rub her back. As Torrey rubbed soothing circles into the small of Clarke’s back, she calmly told her,”It’s okay princess. Get it all out. You’ll be okay.”
When Clarke finished, Torrey moved into the bathroom to clean out the basket. She thought about how weak Clarke has felt lately and how much her daughter hated it. She hated seeing her daughter look and feel that way and she definitely hated knowing there was nothing she could do. As she thought about it more, she felt the first few tears drop from her eyes and down her cheeks. Before she knew it, she was laying in her master bedroom en suite crying over something she couldn’t fix. She knew Clarke wanted to go back to school. She knew Clarke wanted to feel like a regular teen. She just didn’t know how to help her feel that way.
Torrey wiped her tears away and rubbed a cold washcloth under her eyes to rid herself of the redness and puffiness of her eyes. She didn’t want her daughter to see that she was crying. Torrey walked back into the living room with the newly clean bin and sat it on the floor next to Clarke. She sat down into the spot that Clarke had opened up for her in the couch. Clarke immediately enveloped herself into the comfort of her mom and hugged her tightly. Torrey heard the quiet whisper saying,”I hate this so much Tor. Please just make me go away so it can stop.”
She began to feel the small teen’s tears soaking through her cotton pajama t-shirt. After hearing Clarke’s pleads, she felt herself starting to cry. No, she wanted to stay strong for Clarke. That was the one person she couldn’t break down in front of.
“Please Tor.. Just make this misery end. I can’t take this anymore.” At some point, Torrey couldn’t remember when, Clarke had managed to cry herself to sleep and just lay peacefully. SHe knew that once her daughter awoke, it would be anything but peaceful. But for now, she was happy and could use the quietness. Torrey moved from behind Clarke to pick up Carly and begin her feeding before she got too fussy. She stared down at the baby’s angelic face and smiled remembering how Clarke used to be.
“Mommy! Torrey! I’m hungry and it’s time to wake up! Please wake up!” The small child ran into their room and jumped onto the bed. Clarke had an unusual amount of energy for a six year old. She snuggled into the small space between her moms. “You gotta wake up Torrey. It’s Clarkey and Torrey day!”
Clarke and Torrey spent every Wednesday making breakfast, playing at the park and getting ice cream. It was Clarke’s favorite day of the week. She enjoyed it so much that she even woke up early on those days to see her favorite person.
Clarke looked over at Torrey and couldn’t figure out if she was actually asleep or just pretending. So, in return, she reached over and poked her nose. “Torrey! You can’t sleep forever! We have a busy day ahead of us and you can’t miss it.”
“I’m up babygirl. I’m awake. Let’s not be too loud so that Mommy can sleep okay? Mommy needs her sleep to be a princess just like you.” Torrey rolled out of the large bed and picked Clarke up with her,”What do you think about chocolate chip pancakes today? We can only make them if we stay super quiet like spies until Mommy wakes up okay?”
Clarke covered her mouth with her hands and nodded. Torrey snickered and brought her out of the room. That was Clarke’s last good morning. A morning Torrey would never forget.
Clarke soon woke up a few hours later but had no memory of the events that had happened. The three spent the rest of the day laying on the couch watching movies, cuddling, and trying to have a normal day for the weren’t sure when the next one would occur.
~Abby~
Abby’s biggest fear while she worked at the hospital was seeing Clarke rushed through the er on an ambulance gurney due to an emergency at home. She tensed up every time she saw a head of long, blonde, wavy hair in her emergency room. She never wanted it to be her precious daughter. She never wanted them to be her Clarke.
Abby sait at the nurses station and typed mindlessly on her computer. The emergency room was pretty slow today and she hoped she wouldn’t have any procedures in the last hour before she could go home and check on Clarke. She decided to take a quick moment and call Torrey to check on her. She picked up the phone and pressed one on her speed dial. She listened to the first few dial tones before realizing the time and assuming they’d be asleep. She hung up her phone and said down at the desk just as the bright, fluorescent red lights to the station began to flash. Abby watched the paramedics race through to the operation room,”We have a young female. She’s approximately an older teen. She’s been unconscious for four hours and there’s intense bleeding in her brain. She needs immediate surgery. Last name is Griffin. "